Alex at Carlos Avery

Photo by Alex.

Yesterday afternoon Alex & I headed out to Carlos Avery even though it was quite cloudy and thunderstorms were predicted.
The flies were the worst I've ever experienced there; the air was hot, heavy & humid.
Although we didn't see a lot of birds, Alex did learn the song of Goldfinches and wished for more Tree Swallows to eat the flies.

Time to head home before the rains start!

Alex at Springbrook - part II

Do you notice something unusual about the frog?

See the mosquito on its back?

time to go home

Alex at Springbrook - part I

Although we faced a few drops of rain, Alex & I headed out to Springbrook Nature Center this afternoon.
While I figured he would be interested in the Great Egret we saw, he was more enchanted by the turtle (see below) and the baby ducklings & frog (see tomorrow).

Nikon D40X

Read a glowing review including a comparison with my recent purchase, the Canon Xti.

getting by

Tomorrow I hope to get to Springbrook with my grandson, Alex. Until then we have to get by with this bird-feeder juvenile Cardinal.

this blog is G-rated

I just learned that is my rating for this blog. I guess that's a good thing!? -- but, I don't think I'll leave this as a permanent banner at the bottom of my blog. What do you think? I didn't make this up. The site that does the rating is here.

flowers instead

Until I catch up on work, the flowers from the yard will have to do.

No, I wasn't smokin' anything -- just messin' with the colors a little bit!

you can tell I'm going stir crazy from work

help with ID

This is from yesterday at Carlos . . .
juvenile Red-winged Blackbird maybe? any other ideas?

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Disappointing, if true: ". . . when the lighting is full sunlight and it's a nice day outside, the autofocus is unusably poor. The camera will still produce in-focus pictures...but the ratio of crisp to blurry frames is well below an acceptable level." read more

back to Carlos nevertheless

Work has prevented me from birding the last couple of days; but, after a break this afternoon, I did head out to Carlos for a few hours. I did locate three pairs of Sandhill Cranes in the usual locations; I did not find any large flocks. Also, I did not see a single Great Egret. Some Red-winged Blackbirds have left the nest; the goslings are nearing in size to the adults. The flies are bothersome, the mosquitoes were relatively few.

Jim & I hope to make it to the Sherburne Wildlife Refuge this week.

National park contest

Are you planning to visit a National Park this summer? Win some prizes while you're at it. Here is the info.

my bookmarks

Christophers, LTD & Astronomics, depending on whether you're into birding or astronomy. Large inventory, decent prices - particularly on sale and overstock items.

Bird Pictures by Bill Schmoker -- some very nice bird photography. Check out his blog, also.

Bird Song Guide -- I'm not personally familiar with this collection of bird songs, but if you are, let me know your thoughts on it. The number of birds is limited, but it would be good for a beginning bird watcher and the price seems OK.

For an extremely large collection of bird songs (tropical) check out Xeno-Canto.

For something more familiar to most of us, take a look at the Bird Watchers' Digest web site. Lots of information, particularly for beginners.

Weekend Shooter

In response to my complaint about not finding many Sandhill Cranes during my last trip to Carlos Avery, I heard from John Mikes who has just started a new bird, etc. photography blog, Weekend Shooter. Take a look at it; John does nice work. He suggested I check out the Sherburne Refuge where he had recently seen a large group of cranes. It's on my list for next week, John.

keeping my day job

It's a good thing I don't do this for a living!
Yesterday evening I went to Carlos for about 3 hours and the shot on the left of Sandhill Cranes & the one below were the only ones I could bear to share.
I didn't see a single Great Egret. Where are they?
I also couldn't locate the large groups of Sandhills I've become accustomed to. Perhaps the strong wind had something to do with it.

I was told by Jim that Red Admirals are being seen in very large numbers this year. There are a lot of them at Carlos. But, of course, they are difficult to photograph. My best attempt from yesterday is below.

I think I'll try weaning myself from Carlos for a while and get back to walking (& getting some exercise) at Springbrook and Wargo.

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America

I just ordered a copy of the new 5th edition. Jim W., on the MOU Listservice reports that Border's book stores are selling the fourth edition for $4.95. Amazon carries the new one for $16.32.

It ain't just birds! Part II

Art Morris -- LiveBooks

Check out Art Morris' newly posted portfolio on a web site especially designed for photographers by LiveBooks. As you can see from Morris' site, LiveBooks does an excellent job -- but, I think it will be attractive mostly to professional photographers. The pricing is quite high for the average birdwatcher/amateur photographer (go to the products overview section). Morris is promising a reduced price through him. I'll let you know.

It ain't just birds! Part I

As Art Morris likes to remind us, "It ain't just birds!"
Yesterday, after the U.S. Formula 1 race, Jim & I headed out to Carlos. After watching the F1 cars go over 200mph on the straight-away, the turtles below were quite a contrast. I'm not familiar with the various kinds, but Jim reminded me that there are many more species than I would have imagined. See this DNR site, as well as this other one Jim came up with.
I was happy just to be in their presence enjoying their colors; the shell below reminded me of mother-of-pearl.

"You lookin' at me?!"

more from Carlos

My friend, Jim, and I headed out to Carlos this afternoon -- but, before sharing our trip, here are some remaining pictures from my visit there last Friday.

turtle

Common Yellowthroat

Song Sparrow

Common Loon family
This was taken from quite some distance; I've never been able to get close to them -- maybe next time.